Flatiron with work cooling means

ABSTRACT

A flatiron having an air diffuser at the rear thereof for blowing air downwardly on work being pressed to cool it, an onoff valve for the air, and a switch at the forward end of the handle in position for operation by the thumb of the user&#39;&#39;s hand on the handle of the iron for operating the valve.

United States Patent 1 Evans et al.

1 3,716,933 51 Feb. 20, 1973 [54] FLATIRON WITH WORK COOLING MEANS [75]Inventors: Homer Evans; William R. Cole, Jr., Brookhaven, Miss.

[73] Assignee: Kellwood Company, St. Louis, Mo.

[22] Filed: Oct. 18, 1971 211 Appl.No.: 190,184

[52] US. Cl ..38/75 [51] Int. Cl. ..D06f 75/00 [58] Field of Search..38/75, 74, 94; 100/102 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,362,590 ll/l944 Smith ..38/75 2,402,575 6/l946 Purpura ..38/75 PrimaryExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Att0meylrving Powers et a].

[57] ABSTRACT A flatiron having an air diffuser at the rear thereof forblowing air downwardly on work being pressed to cool it, an on-off valvefor the air, and a switch at the forward end of the handle in positionfor operation by the thumb of the users hand on the handle of the ironfor operating the valve.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures FLATIRON WITH WORK COOLING MEANS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a flatiron with work coolingmeans, and more particularly to a flatiron with means for blowing airdownwardly on work being pressed to cool it.

In pressing open seams of items of apparel made from high polyestercontent fabrics with a flatiron (usually an electric steam hand iron),difficulty has been encountered in that the fabric has a tendency tostraighten out and close the seam once the flatiron has passed by due toslow cooling, and it has been found desirable to provide for rapidcooling of the fabric as it is pressed to set the fabric in thepressed-open position. This invention is directed toward providing aflatiron with means for effecting such cooling.

Reference may be made to the following patents as the closest known atthe time of filing this application: U.S. Pat. No. 2,186,930, 2,362,590,2,362,591, 2,402,575, 2,606,378, 2,629,949 and 2,639,520.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the invention being asabove noted, in accordance with this invention a flatiron (e.g. aconventional electric steam hand iron) is provided with an air diffusermounted on the flatiron in position rearward of the rearward end of thebody of the flatiron for blowing air downwardly on work being pressedwith the iron to cool the work as the iron passes thereover, a flexiblecompressed air line extending from a source of compressed air to saiddiffuser, an on-off valve for controlling flow of air through said lineto said diffuser, and means at the forward end of the handle operable bythe thumb of the users hand when on the handle for actuating the valve.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointedout hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of aflatiron equipped with cooling means of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear end view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation on line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis indicated at l a flatiron, shown as a conventional commerciallyavailable electric steam hand iron of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,412,492. This has the usual body 3 with a sole plate 5having'steam openings 7, and the usual handle 9. An air diffusergenerally designated 11 is mounted on the flatiron 1 is positionrearward of the rearward end of the body of the flatiron for blowing airdownwardly on work being pressed with the iron rapidly to cool the workas the iron passes thereover. A flexible compressed air line 13 (adaptedto permit the hand manipulation of the iron) extends from a source ofcompressed air indicated at 15 to the diffuser. An on-off valve 17 isprovided for controlling flow of air through the air line to thediffuser. Means indicated at 19 is provided at the forward end of thehandle 9 operable by the thumb of the users hand. when on the handle foractuating the valve.

The valve 17 is a solenoid valve, and means 19 is a switch having anoperating member constituted by a push button 21. This switch 29 ismounted on a bracket 23 secured at the forward end of the handle bymeans of the usual nut 25 on the usual bolt 27 extending through thehandle with the button 21 at the left side of the handle (the left sideas viewed in forward direction) and somewhat below the top of the handlewhereby the button may be readily pushed down to close the switch by thethumb of the users right hand when grasping the handle during pressing.Flexible conductors as indicated at 29 connect the switch and valve inseries with an electric power source 31.

The air diffuser I I comprises an air diffuser head 33 extendingcrosswise of the iron rearward of its rearward end and above the planeof the bottom of the iron. This head 33 is an elongate hollow memberhaving an air exit slot 35 extending lengthwise thereof at its bottom37. The head is preferably of curved form (see Fig. 3) with its bottom37 containing the air exit slot 35 convex, i.e., curving slightly upwardat its ends. The purpose of this is to have the air blow downwardly in arelatively wide band to cool the pressed-open margins of the fabric atthe seam with the air at opposite sides of this band fanning outwardly(see the arrows in Fig. 3) to prevent air from blowing under the edgesof the margins and lifting them up. A tubular stem 39 extends upwardlyfrom the head at its center (the diffuser 11 thus resembling an invertedT), line 13 being connected to the upper end of this stem by a suitablecoupling as indicated at 41 Air flows downwardly through the stem 39 tothe head 33 and laterally outwardly in the head from the lower end ofthe stem. The head and stem may be formed as an integral hollow T-shapedelement, the ends of the head being plugged as indicated at 43.

The diffuser 11 is mounted on the iron by means of a bracket 45 securedto the top of the body of the iron extending rearwardly beyond therearward end of the iron, the stem 39 being mounted at the rearward endof the bracket and being adjustable up and down. The bracket 45comprises a metal strip bent to V-shape having its ends 47 twisted tolie flat on top of the body of the iron and being secured thereto as byscrews 49. The stem 39 is received in the apex of the V, which isrounded for this purpose as indicated at 51 in Fig. 4, and a clamp screw53 is provided extending between the sides of the V immediately forwardof the stem for drawing the sides together to clamp the stem in itsadjusted position.

In the use of the iron to press open a seam, for exam-' ple, theoperator starts with the front point of the iron entered between themargins of the fabric in the seam to spread them apart and press themdown. As she moves the iron forward, the operator presses down on theswitch button 21 to close the switch, thereby energizing the solenoid ofvalve 17 to open the valve for flow of air to the head 33 and exittherefrom via slot 35 in a relatively wide band relatively rapidly tocool the fabric immediately rearward of the iron as it is moved forwardover the seam. This avoids the aforesaid straightening out of the fabricas might otherwise occur and sets it in the pressed-open position. Whenthe operator finishes pressing a seam, she simply releases the button 21to cut off the flow of air to conserve it until she starts pressinganother seam.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What is claimed is:

1. A flatiron having a body and a handle on the body, an air diffusermounted on the flatiron in position rearward of the rearward end of thebody of the flatiron for blowing air downwardly on work being pressedwith the iron to cool the work as the iron passes thereover, a flexiblecompressed air line extending from a source of compressed air to saiddiffuser, an on-off valve for controlling flow of air through said lineto said diffuser, and means at the forward end of the handle operable bythe thumb of the users hand when on the handle for actuating the valve.

2. A flatiron as set forth in claim 1 wherein the valve is a solenoidvalve and said means at the forward end of the handle is a switch havingan operating member positioned for engagement by the thumb.

3. A flatiron as set, forth in claim 2 having flexible conductorsbetween said switch and valve.

4. A flatiron as set forth in claim 2 wherein said diffuser comprises adiffuser head extending crosswise of the iron rearward of its rearwardend above the bottom plane of the iron.

5. A flatiron as set forth in claim 4 wherein said head is an elongatehollow member having an air exit slot extending lengthwise thereof atits bottom.

6. A flatiron as set forth in claim 5 wherein said head is of curvedform with its bottom containing the air exit slot convex.

7. A flatiron as set forth in claim 6 having a tubular stem extendingupwardly from the center of the head, said flexible air line beingconnected to the upper end of the stem, air flowing downwardly throughthe stem to the head.

8. A flatiron as set forth in claim 7 wherein the dif-- fuser is mountedon the iron by means of a bracket secured to the top of the body of theiron extending rearwardly beyond the rearward end of the iron, the stembeing mounted at the rearward end of said bracket and being adjustableup and down.

9. A flatiron as set forth in claim 8 wherein the bracket comprises ametal strip bent to V shape and having its ends twisted to lie flat ontop of the body of the iron and being secured thereto, the stem beingreceived in the apex of the V, and wherein a clamp screw is providedbetween the sides of the V forward of the stern for drawing saidsidestogether to clamp the stem.

1. A flatiron having a body and a handle on the body, an air diffusermounted on the flaTiron in position rearward of the rearward end of thebody of the flatiron for blowing air downwardly on work being pressedwith the iron to cool the work as the iron passes thereover, a flexiblecompressed air line extending from a source of compressed air to saiddiffuser, an on-off valve for controlling flow of air through said lineto said diffuser, and means at the forward end of the handle operable bythe thumb of the user''s hand when on the handle for actuating thevalve.
 1. A flatiron having a body and a handle on the body, an airdiffuser mounted on the flaTiron in position rearward of the rearwardend of the body of the flatiron for blowing air downwardly on work beingpressed with the iron to cool the work as the iron passes thereover, aflexible compressed air line extending from a source of compressed airto said diffuser, an on-off valve for controlling flow of air throughsaid line to said diffuser, and means at the forward end of the handleoperable by the thumb of the user''s hand when on the handle foractuating the valve.
 2. A flatiron as set forth in claim 1 wherein thevalve is a solenoid valve and said means at the forward end of thehandle is a switch having an operating member positioned for engagementby the thumb.
 3. A flatiron as set forth in claim 2 having flexibleconductors between said switch and valve.
 4. A flatiron as set forth inclaim 2 wherein said diffuser comprises a diffuser head extendingcrosswise of the iron rearward of its rearward end above the bottomplane of the iron.
 5. A flatiron as set forth in claim 4 wherein saidhead is an elongate hollow member having an air exit slot extendinglengthwise thereof at its bottom.
 6. A flatiron as set forth in claim 5wherein said head is of curved form with its bottom containing the airexit slot convex.
 7. A flatiron as set forth in claim 6 having a tubularstem extending upwardly from the center of the head, said flexible airline being connected to the upper end of the stem, air flowingdownwardly through the stem to the head.
 8. A flatiron as set forth inclaim 7 wherein the diffuser is mounted on the iron by means of abracket secured to the top of the body of the iron extending rearwardlybeyond the rearward end of the iron, the stem being mounted at therearward end of said bracket and being adjustable up and down.